Sunday, August 21, 2011

I Almost Died

On Friday, I went in for a fairly routine pelvic/abdominal CT scan with IV contrast. I've been having pain in my lower back that is now 24/7. Doctor wanted to check for kidney stones and to rule out cancer.

I have been very independent for most of my life. At the age of 10, I began going to the doctor by myself. When I was 11, I had a thyroid biopsy alone (my mom was at the mercy of the bus and didn't make it in time). In high school, I went to a brain surgeon (for headaches) by myself. Ditto the dentist. I say all of this so you understand that it was out of the norm for me to be anxious about this appointment and to pull out all the stops to get someone to go with me.

J was out-of-town so our friend, the Divine Miss R came with. I was double gowned and an IV stuck in me. Once in the CT room, I was told to lay down on my back and put my arms behind my head, outstretched. I assumed their bondage position as my left hand IV was hooked up to the machine. First few passes of the scan went fine.

They put saline through the IV. It was fine. They added one contrast (total of three). It was fine. Then they added another contrast. Felt really hot and like I had to go really bad but it was fine. And the last one.

I felt nauseous. Then the heaving started. The nurse/technician came running in, moved the machine and brought me a container. My hand was still attached to the IV so needless to say, it was awkward at best. I was half sitting up, half laying down but with my torso twisted towards the head of the bed as that is where the IV was coming from.

I couldn't stop throwing up. Blood. Lots of blood. Can't breathe. It won't stop coming up! Breathe. Can't breathe. More coming up. More blood. Calm your core. Can't breathe. Is this how I'm going to go out?! More. Slow. Breathe. I can breathe. Finally, the violent heaving of my torso stopped. First a shallow breath. Then a deeper one.

The doctor was there. The nurses were there. The looks on their faces got me alarmed. I knew I must have looked really bad. Then she asked if I could lay back down and finish the last two scans. After that, they wanted to observe me. I have since learned they thought I was going to code on the table. Even though I was at a hospital, it was a fair distance to the ER and they didn't think I would make it down before my throat closed.

When I got back to the observation room, the Divine Miss Rosie was there. I got her to give me a mirror. I knew I looked bad. I didn't realize how bad! The whites of my eyes were blood red. My entire face had red, broken blood vessels, my eyes, forehead, cheeks, nose had swollen with hives. Black mascara was smeared above and below my eyes.
About 1 hour into recovery after the swelling started to go down

I am extremely grateful to the Divine Miss Rosie for being there with me. Knowing I was not alone and having someone to drive my car were priceless. Our friend, Usher, came to be with me in the afternoon. Having Usher there was so comforting. That evening Dr. CC picked J up from the airport so I didn't have to at night. 

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Let Me Tell You About My Day

I had the most amazing day today! We had our all staff meeting in the morning. It was fun to see the teachers again. We have a great group of teachers and I'm excited about this school year.

Today, several of the teachers gave me kudos for the hard work I've been doing to get the classes filled. They know this because our principal told them. It's great when your boss tells you directly that you are doing a good job but for your boss to tell other people. Sometimes, that is even better.

I had great conversations with several potential parents and had great follow up meetings with co-staffers this afternoon/evening. I walked out of my office on a major high.

Then I got a voicemail from my kidney specialist's office. See, I had been having some pain lately so I went to my doctor. Who, as it turns out, is on a sailing trip for 3 1/2 months! Love my job but I'm in the wrong line of business, clearly. I was surprised when they told me I had blood in my urine. Called in a scrip for me and off J went to our neighborhood Walgreen's. Horse tabs for three days. Done.

The doc I did see had suggested I go to a kidney specialist. Kidney specialist also sails and wants the contact info for my doctor and wants to know where he went on his trip. Kidney specialist ran his own tests and said he wanted to run some more lab work. Kidney specialist said it could be kidney stones or cancer or endometriosis or nothing. Kidney specialist said we could do a CAT scan or an ultrasound or we could wait on the lab results.

So I'm waiting on the lab results and have convinced myself that it is endometriosis coming to haunt me 20 years later. Only this time, I'm just gonna cut my uterus out. I have also convinced myself that this is all in my pretty little head.

Then I got a voicemail from my kidney specialist's office. (I know I repeated that up 3 paragraphs. It's a writing technique, not a mistake.) And now I need a hug. Only J is out of town. Why does s*** always hit the fan when J is out of town and not here to help clean it up?! Or give me a hug. I thought about going across the way and getting a hug from Glass Girl or Her Girl. Only I know I would break down in sobs. This is why I should get a hysterectomy. To remove the hormone inducing insanity.

I need a hug right now. Excuse me while I hug my rabbit and sob because I have blood in my urine and have to go for further testing. Totally irrational. I know. Again, excuse me. I need to see a rabbit about a hug.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wacky Wednesday - Amusement

Seems I don't need kids, drugs, or alcohol to amuse myself...